String indicators

String indicators are commonly used in guitar music to tell performers the string on which they should play a note, particularly for pitches that are possible on multiple strings.

String indicators show the string number inside a circle enclosure, optionally with a dashed line to indicate they apply to a range of notes. Open pitches commonly appear as a zero without an enclosure.

In Dorico Pro, string indicators for stopped pitches appear in a plain font while string indicators for open strings use the fingering font when they appear as zero fingerings. If you want to edit the appearance of string indicators, you can do so in the Edit Playing Techniques dialog.

Figure 1. A phrase with string indicators and left-hand fingerings

There are two types of string indicators in Dorico Pro, which you input in different ways.

String indicators outside the staff

String indicators outside the staff always appear inside circle enclosures. They automatically show dashed duration lines when they have duration to indicate that multiple notes are played on that string.

In Dorico Pro, string indicators outside the staff are considered playing techniques. You can select and delete them independently of the notes to which they apply. You can also change the duration line style of string indicators outside the staff in the same ways as for playing technique continuation lines.

Figure 2. String indicator outside the staff with duration line
String indicators inside the staff

String indicators inside the staff appear inside circle enclosures, except when they show open strings, which appear as a bold number zero without an enclosure. They automatically erase their backgrounds so they do not collide with staff lines. They appear to the left of noteheads by default but automatically appear to the right if left-hand fingerings are present.

The string number shown in string indicators inside the staff is calculated automatically, but you can also specify the string manually.

String indicators inside the staff for stopped pitches are scaled-down versions of string indicators outside the staff. Therefore, changing the appearance of string indicators in the Edit Playing Techniques dialog also affects the appearance of string indicators inside the staff for stopped pitches.

In Dorico Pro, string indicators inside the staff are considered properties of the corresponding notes. You can only select them independently of their corresponding notes in Engrave mode.

Figure 3. String indicators inside the staff, with the last one for an open string